News

Race For Water Odyssey Arrives In Shanghai

Published: Tuesday, 11 August 2015

After a stopover in Japan, the Race for Water Odyssey (R4WO) is pursuing its actions in Shanghai, China, in order to learn more about recycling methods and policies in the country and raise awareness about the issue of plastic pollution. The MOD70 trimaran will also undergo a complete technical inspection.

(All Photos: Peter Charaf/R4WO)

Initiated by the Race for Water foundation, the R4WO is a unique expedition that aims to draw up the first global assessment of plastic pollution in the ocean by visiting island beaches situated in the five trash vortexes.

In less than 300 days, over 40,000 nautical miles will be traveled, along with 11 scientific stopovers and nine outreach stopovers, involving a total of 13 countries.

(Marco Simeoni and Benoit Lequin with journalists on R4WO boat)

China is an important consumer of recycled materials as well as a large producer of waste due to its high-numbered population. Managing plastic waste is a recurring and concerning issue for the country.

Various actions to raise awareness will be organised in order to awaken consciousness on the growing problem of plastic pollution, which often flows into the oceans. The team will also speak to local activists to learn about techniques currently set in place.

After Shanghai, the R4WO will head to South Africa and will continue to carry out analyses on the islands of Koror (Palau Archipelago), Chagos and Rodrigues, located respectively in the garbage patch of the North Pacific Ocean and of the Indian Ocean.